Alive

This article is about the song performed by Sia. For the Raffey Cassidy song, see Alive (Vox Lux).

"Someone's living, someone's dying"
—Miranda Lambert

"Alive" is the second track from Sia's seventh studio album, This Is Acting. Released on 25 September 2015, the song serves as the album's lead single.

Background

Sia confirmed in September 2015 that she would release her upcoming album's lead single later that month. She described that the song was about Adele's life, and written "from her perspective."^[1] In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, she explained that, along with "Bird Set Free" and one other song, "Alive" was co-written by Adele, for her then-upcoming album, 25, but neither of the three made the cut. The song was later pitched to Rihanna, who also passed on it.^[2]

Having been written from Adele's perspective, the song drew its inspiration from Adele's life. Sia told on multiple occasions that the primary hook, "I'm still breathing," was taken directly from a line by Keith Carlos of America's Next Top Model:

“	This beautiful young man on the last cycle had said that he had had a tough life, but he said, ’I am still breathing,’ and I felt emotional, and so I wrote it down. [ ... ] I have so much to thank reality TV for.
	— Sia[2][3]

Release

In September 2015 at the 72nd Venice Film Festival, Sia confirmed her upcoming album and said that its lead single, called "Alive," would be released later that month on the 26th.^[1] She later retweeted an Instagram post, originally posted on September 19th, by her manager at Crush Music Entertainment, David Russell, shared to Twitter which contained a photo of her graffitied symbolic wig silhouette and a release date of September 25th, 2015, painted against a gray city sidewalk, along with the caption "fasten your wig. #Sia #yourenotready".^[4][5]

On September 21st, 2015, the profile picture of Sia's Facebook page was changed to the same image on Russell's post. The song's artwork was released the following day.^[6][7] On September 23rd, 2015, a 15-second teaser of the song was released, along with the corrected release date of September 24th because Sia "couldn't wait any longer."^[8] "Alive" premiered at iHeartRadio's Snapchat Discover channel at about 6 a.m. the following day, and was soon released to other services soon after.^[9]

Composition

"Alive" is written in the key of F♯ minor with a tempo of 100 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of F♯m–C♯m–D–F♯m–C♯m–D–Bsus2, and Sia's vocals span from F♯₃ to E₅.^[10]

Promotion

Being the lead single for This Is Acting, "Alive" was promoted during a number of live performances:

• Saturday Night Live (7 November 2015)^[11] – The performance was accompanied by Mina Nishimura, who donned the same outfit as that in the music video. Nishimura gave a performance akin to the music video, only replacing "kata" with choreography that resembled it. Sia wore a blue trenchcoat, matching wig and the symbolic two-toned wig and had wacky eyes drawn over her cheeks for the performance. The whole performance was backed with a black church choir singing the pre-chorus and the chorus.
• Red Bull Sound Space (12 November 2015)^[12] The performance wasn't accompanied by any dancer.
• The Ellen Degeneres Show (1 December 2015)^[13] – The performance was accompanied by Sia's recurring on-stage persona, Maddie Ziegler wearing a black velvet dress along with the two-toned wig, dancing frantically. The performance included Ziegler's reminiscent twisting, whirling, tumbling and breaking the set's glass window twice. Sia hid behind a conical black curtain at the corner of the set. The performance ends with Maddie and Sia simultaneously falling down on the floor.
• The Voice (1 December 2015)^[14] The performance wasn't accompanied by any dancer.
• The X Factor (6 December 2015)^[15] – The performance began with Sia descending on top of a huge glass cage with Julia Speisser in the symbolic nude leotard. Speisser's dance drew inspiration from "Chandelier" and mimicked a variety of its moves. As the song progresses, the glass cage gets lit in various colors and a multitude of patterns.
• C à vous (9 December 2015)^[16] The performance wasn't accompanied by any dancer.
• C'Cauet (11 Decmber 2015)^[17] The performance wasn't accompanied by any dancer.
• The Graham Norton Show (11 December 2015)^[18] The performance was accompanied by Stephanie Mincone, wearing a black bodysuit and doing a similar choreography to the one from The Ellen Degeneres Show. It was described as the "best performance" by Vevo.
• TFI Friday (31 December 2015)^[19] The performance was accompanied by Maddie Ziegler, wearing the same bodysuit and performing the same choreography as The Graham Norton Show performance.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone critic Jon Blistein described Sia's vocals as "devastating, electrifying," and wrote, "while the dramatic build of "Alive" sounds straight out of Adele's wheelhouse, the outsized pop production — courtesy of Jesse Shatkin — and the ragged, throat-cracking, enrapturing vocal run Sia embarks on at the end are quintessentially her."^[20] "Alive" also came in at #56 on the annual Triple J Hottest 100 for 2015.^[21]

Commercial performance

Charts:

Certifications

Music video

	Alive
	Release date:	5 November 2015
	Director(s):	Daniel Askill · Sia
	Producer(s):	Jason Baum
	Cinematographer:	Mathieu Plainfossé
	Editor(s):	Adrian Seery · Lorin Askill
	Photographer(s):	Ari Robbins
	Cast:	Mahiro Takano

The music video for "Alive" was released on November 5th, 2015. Directed by Daniel Askill and Sia, the video features child karate star Mahiro Takano performing traditional "kata" – a form of choreography in karate – while matching the music, evident in the final part of the video. The music video was shot in a suburb in Tokyo, Japan over the duration of a week.^[26]

A lyric video for "Alive" was uploaded on Sia's Vevo channel on October 20th, 2015. Directed by Lior Molcho, the video shows a group of faceless figures in the symbolic two-toned wigs and hoodies, who spray the lyrics on walls around a metropolis. As the video progresses, the lyrics are accompanied by graffitied images, portraits, skulls, Xanax pills, a barking dog and a roaring tiger.^[27]

Official remix audio

Track listing

Digital download - Single^[28]

1. "Alive" – 4:23

Remixes - EP^[29]

1. "Alive" (Plastic Plates Remix) – 4:58
2. "Alive" (Maya Jane Coles Remix) – 5:07
3. "Alive" (AFSHeeN Remix) – 3:16
4. "Alive" (Boehm Remix) – 3:50
5. "Alive" (Cahill Club Remix) – 4:18

Lyrics

References

See also: This Is Acting

This Is Acting
	"Alive" "Bird Set Free" "One Million Bullets" "Move Your Body" "Unstoppable" "Cheap Thrills" "Reaper" "House on Fire" "Footprints" "Sweet Design" "Broken Glass" "Space Between" "Fist Fighting a Sandstorm" "Summer Rain" "The Greatest" "Confetti" "Midnight Decisions" "Jesus Wept